What job should I do?

What job should I do?

When thinking about which jobs are right for you, there are two basic ways of thinking.

• What qualities do you have professionally and personally? It determines your career path
• You don't have to have the same job for decades, you can make a career plan and that may include making room for several career changes

Did you notice that career dreams were not mentioned? It was completely deliberate, because of course you have to have a passion for what you do.  It may well be that you are good with numbers, but that does not necessarily mean that you must be an accountant.

Conversely, you must also be prepared for the fact that there may be gaps in your CV and your career plan will therefore be put on hold.

There are typically three times when it can be more difficult to get momentum in your career, compared to people whose career is running smoothly. When you

• Are a recent graduate
• Worked in the same job for many years
• Has been out of the workforce for a long period

But no matter what, it's never too late to change careers.

My career

As a recent graduate, it can be beneficial to ask your study advisor for a career guide or attend a career fair. Here you can meet representatives of companies that you can work for. 

The following is written in very general terms, is typical and very black and white, but perhaps the overview gives you some ideas about the type of company you would like to work in:

Small businesses

Big companies

A company's size, structure and working methods are one thing, but the people you meet along the way are also important.

It could be that you:

• Meet an entrepreneur and want to start your own business
• Get an offer from your team leader to move to Japan to work in the subsidiary

A job and career can be planned to a large extent, but if you meet a person who can change your life in a positive direction, you could a chance and grab the opportunity.

When we talk about careers and career planning, you can think of it as a compass or a GPS. You know

• Where you are
• Where you want to go
• How to get there

What the compass can't tell you is how many hills you have to go up and down, or whether there will be an absolutely fantastic side road on your way to your goal.

A side road can lead to a new career path.

Since we can't take into account every possible scenario, let's focus on how to make your career plan now.

Career path

The first thing you do is define your long term career goals. Will you

• Be a highly trained specialist?
• Be a leader and if so at what level in terms of responsibility
• Live and work in a certain country?
• Change subject area

The speed with which your career dreams come true may depend on

• How high are your goals? Is it difficult to achieve your career goals?
• Who you meet on your way, including networks
• Are you ready to wait ‘x’ number of years with other dreams you have?
• How good you are at doing your job?
• How rigid is the organisation you work in with regards to opportunities for promotion
• Does the company operate with gender quotas, which can be an advantage or disadvantage depending on your situation

If your professional competences are not relevant to your goals, you can advantageously set new career goals that reflect your professional skills

You are now ready to break down your career goals into milestones.

Career development plan

To set milestones for your career plan, you can consider the following

• Can there be more than one path to your career goal?
• Is it an advantage to work as a specialist, or in cross organisational work as a generalist?
• Where are you going to miss a game changer? Can this need be covered by continuing education or courses?

Where the ultimate career goals are subject to some uncertainty due to timelines, it must be possible for your interim goal for the next 3 to 5 years to be very realistic. Otherwise, the value of your career plan will decrease, not just in the short term, but also in the long term.

If you think it is difficult to plan the next 3 years, then you are probably not quite ready to make a career plan. Then you can choose to set yourself some personal goals and challengers such as:

• Exercise at least 30 minutes a day, for one month
• Get up at 6.30 on weekdays and 8 on Sundays
• Learn French at level A1 (Council of Europe scale) within 1 year

Below is a model that can be used to set career and personal goals. The model is called the SMART model as the English expressions in the first column form the word: Smart. Let's start from the exercise example above.

You are now ready for the next step, namely applying for your next career job.